Reclaiming Power in a “Post-Pandemic” Working World
As we progress further into summer and start thinking about the fall/winter of 2021, many of us women of color find ourselves emerging from 16 months of COVID restrictions with new clarity about where, how, and with whom we invest our time – especially the time we spend working.
The pandemic has spurred on the great resignation, in which droves of BIWOC are leaving their current roles for personal safety or in pursuit of dream positions that better align with their new priorities.
The combination of quarantine restrictions, working from home, and corporate DEI initiatives present us as BIWOCs with new and interesting career options. And a renewed opportunity for self-determination.
If you were considering the following options, which would you choose?
The opportunity to lead a non-profit organization that aligns closely with your values.
A lateral move with a slight pay increase and the option to work from home two days a week.
An in-house promotion with a 20% pay increase and the choice to relocate to a new city.
Each option has its pros and cons, and this kind of decision-making process is complex for BIWOCs. Our lives are dynamic, ever-evolving, and consist of co-existing identities that need to be recognized and honored.
Our upbringing (and the social conditioning that came with it), financial situations, personal and care-taking responsibilities, and relationship status have uniquely impacted us during COVID. And they’re going to keep affecting our career decisions moving forward.
Although we have lived in isolated conditions for the past year, as women of color, our decisions are far from individual.
This nuanced understanding of the BIWOC experience is the underpinning of our approach at Embrace Change. We support our clients through career coaching that meets the unique needs of BIWOCs navigating predominantly White work environments.
Just as the working world isn’t one-size-fits-all, neither are our coaching services. Our team includes specialists in negotiation, DEI, HR/People Ops, job search, career change, financial wellness, entrepreneurship, and leadership.
We pride ourselves on empowering women of color across all industries – including those of us who struggle with imposter syndrome, people-pleasing tendencies, self-doubt, and perfectionistic tendencies.
We work with our clients to get them clear on their career goals – and steadily, confidently, and strategically moving toward them.
In under two years, COVID has blown the long-celebrated patriarchal work monolith out of the water.
We now have a renewed opportunity to blaze our own trails forward.
With clear career goals and the confidence to execute them, we as BIWOCs can reclaim power in our careers by advocating for safer and more supportive work conditions that will let us thrive in the workplace.